My Top 500 Songs (complete!!)

282 Guru Josh Project - Infinity (1989/ 2008)

The majority of the plays come from the 2008 Klaas Clubland style remix rather than the late 80s more techno influenced/ acid house-lite version.

Dead now of course. A strange man, who despite all the raves, associated drugs and general club/ hippy/ free love vibes, he was an avid fan of the poll tax. He'd have loved the anti-vax movement. Last seen eating out Mrs Thatcher in hell.



 
281 Tori Amos - Professional Widow (1996)

Originally a caustic, unpleasant hate track squarely aimed at Courtney Love, remixed to almost complete destruction and to no.1 by Armand Van Helden.

A truly brilliant and at the same time utterly unique collaboration (although whether they ever met I'll leave to the Tori fans, she did appreciate it though).

I had a copy of the remix, as the double A, paired with the far more Tori sounding Hey Jupiter. I played it endlessly in the autumn of 1996 to anyone who would listen. Months later it was re-released on it's own merit and topped the UK charts, much to my satisfaction. Certainly one of the least likely no.1s of all time and her only chart topper (it was the first of three for Van Helden).

The brilliant slicing of the lyrics, complete with nods to big cocks and blow jobs, a charming chant of SLAG SLAG SLAG, a delightful ethereal dance break about a beautiful angel, and the biggest and funkiest damn house beat anyone had heard up to that point. Around the same time the rift was used on a remix of Lisa Stansfield's People Hold On.

Honey, bring it close to my lips...

Yeah

 
The album that Midnight City is lifted from remains an absolute all-time favourite.

He's been very happy since to steer away from BANGERZ and stick to either downtempos or anonymous aethereal movie soundtracks. Which are all very lovely, but one wonders if he might not have become a superstar with a few more thumping Midnight Cities behind him.
 
Shoat said:
The album that Midnight City is lifted from remains an absolute all-time favourite.

He's been very happy since to steer away from BANGERZ and stick to either downtempos or anonymous aethereal movie soundtracks. Which are all very lovely, but one wonders if he might not have become a superstar with a few more thumping Midnight Cities behind him.
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I forget it's name, but he did a lovely track for Versailles.
 
279 Cher - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) (2018)

What a meeting of gay legends. She came and she delivered. My favourite recollection of this was hearing the whole album while we were on the Brighton i360. Thank you gay member of staff.

Please also indulge in the Offer Nissim remix



 
278 Sonique - It Feels So Good (1998)

Giving us turn of the century diva house, this was a huge world wide hit, including no.1 in the UK and top 10 in the US. It feels somewhat underbaked this days. It could do with another 45 minutes in the oven. Still a euphoric chart smash.

 
277 La Roux - Bulletproof (2009)

What a meeting of worlds, Elly the daughter of Sergeant June Ackland. FUN ANECDOTE - I believe I saw a 12 year old Elly with her mother at London Pride 2000. Ben had previously collaborated with Rollo on the Huff & Puff project.

Regardless of their past, they came to dominate the 2009 charts, winning a Grammy in the process. Ben has since left and attempted projects largely faltered due to the split. Elly alone is now La Roux and sadly hasn't seen a whiff of the success the late 2000s offered. Still those two singles set a standard of what electro dance pop could sound like and Elly became a style icon at a time before grey washed over the entire world.

 
276 Dua Lipa - Don't Start Now (2019)

The first of three appearances for Dua "give us nothing" Lipa. One of many pop starlets who give us life during the pandemic. Future Nostalgia was absolutely packed, and with a title so accurate, I wonder if she read it in the tarot.

Between Jessie and Dua, the disco revival era really hit with a sultry slap.

 
274 Celine Dion - Pour que tu m'aimes encore (1995)
275 Celine Dion - A New Day Has Come (2002)

The difference seven years made for our Celine. The gorgeous Pour..., with subtle but spine tingling production to A New Day..., with big pop production.

She really is our generations diva, the peak of her success falling in my formative years. Please do go and see Titanique, if you've not seen it yet.



 
273 Solange - Losing You (2012)

Solange's only appearance on this list (I'm also partial to Cranes in the Sky), only one less than her sister.

Far more interesting than anything Beyoncé ever did, playing with many genres and I'll die on that hill. The Blood Orange production is genuinely nourishing. Some are saying it sounds like 80s Madonna.

 
272 Spice Girls - Wannabe (1996)

When I first saw Wannabe on some music or teen show, I put them down as another future flop. Honestly, I thought it was total rot. A few weeks later they were no.1 and on the first steps of their short but genuinely world wide super stardom. The summer and autumn of 1996, Spicemania was everywhere and everything. I had a full Spice Girl stationary set. Nothing had crossed our young lives since Kylie so ready for mass consumption.

The song itself is bouncy nonsense, with a barely there message about female solidarity, playful, high energy pop. Cheap and cheerful, and utterly unrepeatable.

 
271 George Michael - Spinning the Wheel (1996)

Speaking of the autumn of 1996. A big year for our George, with the release of his brilliant adult album Older, and it was a massive smash. The first two singles were no.1 hits, while this settled for no.2. This smooth jazz soulful piece, was right up my street. Really far too old for my youthful perspective, it all made a lot more sense 25 years later.

Essentially a track displaying his disgust at a lover who took many other lovers (well sleazy hook ups), which was rather rich considering his penchant for cruising and shagging dirty truck drivers in bushes. Not judging, just saying.

The Forthright remix is absolutely my cup of spunk.



 
280 Calvin Harris - I'm Not Alone (2009)

I accidentally skipped over this, and I have nothing to say about this, so here's a picture of Calvin with a green traffic cone.

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Agneeta said:
273 Solange - Losing You (2012)

Solange's only appearance on this list (I'm also partial to Cranes in the Sky), only one less than her sister.

Far more interesting than anything Beyoncé ever did, playing with many genres and I'll die on that hill. The Blood Orange production is genuinely nourishing. Some are saying it sounds like 80s Madonna.

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Another 99 / 10

The whole True EP is astonishing. Predates so many sub genres that are everywhere today. Yes she owes a lot to Dev Hynes but she makes that sound her own. Daring to make uplifting, nostalgic pop music in the middle of the "everyone must do EDM or die" era.

I missed the pop perfection of this on the following 2 albums, but there's some beauty to be found in her subdued alternative stuff too. Nice to see her so beloved by the critics also - definitely can't be considered as chasing her sister's coat tails. She is her own artist.
 
Despite La Roux's fading into obscurity she's released some lovely pop songs sporadically over the last 10 years or so.
 
270 Edward Maya - Stereo Love (2009)

Part of the rush of Romanian dance hits which were often uniquely accordian heavy, which we poor undercultured Westerners didn't know we needed. Head and shoulders above the rest, indulging in a mournful tone rather than the "tits out, hands in the air" the genre sometimes evoked.

 
Losing You may be my favorite of that decade, absolutely gorgeous track.

Spinning That Wheel is also excellent, unfortunate the US kind of fell out with him at that point, though I’m not sure they really pushed anything after the first two singles.
 
269 Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart Again (1980)

Apparently inspired by Moroder style disco, with all the trappings of New Wave and setting the standard for what the fledgling British indie scene could be.

Subject wise, it's bleak - marital distress, few lyrics match the trauma of a failing relationship so well:

Why is the bedroom so cold? You've turned away on your side
Is my timing that flawed? Our respect runs so dry

Released a month after Ian Curtis committed suicide cementing the dark legacy of the track. It has remained a staple amongst indie pop fans and Joy Division themselves, now partly reduced to t-shirt fodder, became New Order, taking that Moroder influence and running with it, to great acclaim.

Real music, but very very good music.

 
268 Faithless - We Come 1 (2001)

The second of four appearances on the list (Salva Mea just missed out).

They do have a worthy legacy of making utterly euphoric dance music, huge at dance festivals and clubs. My biggest regret was not seeing them while Maxi Jazz was alive. I know they still perform, but surely, it's not the same?

 
267 Madonna - Like A Prayer (1989)

Hold the presses, it's Moopy’s all time favourite song, way down at 267 (did you expect Madonna to be top 10?)

One of the defining songs of her career, of the era and probably in the context of gay music fandom. Pop, rock, gospel choirs, it's ecstatic, it's transcendent, it's spiritual, it's provactive, it's emotional... it's a lot.

I genuinely do consider this to be right up there :ken: , but do I listen to it an awful lot? Not really. It had two peaks for me - as an eight year old, coming back from swimming lessons and hearing it at no.1 on the charts, and then again when I was 21 and Madonna was having a genuine renaissance and I snapped up her back catalogue.

There's little to add that hasn't been said ad finem over the last 37 years(!). So sit back and enjoy a genuinely iconic piece of pop music. Glorious.

 
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I saw Faithless at the Roundhouse in the tailend of their career (round about 2015 I'd guess) and they were, of course, incredible. Maxi Jaxx bounced around the stage like he was 18 years old. An enigma.

And Salva Mea is ABSOLUTELY their best song.
 
Notable Moopy related fact, both Like A Prayer and Love Will Tear Us Apart have both won the Moopy best song polls at various times.
 
263 Margaret Berger - I Feed You My Love (2013)
264 Cornelia Jakobs - Hold Me Closer (2022)

Some top tier nordic Eurovision entries. Our Marg first, pulsing icy electro, she drips with charisma, she embodies the song. Would have likely been higher had it not been off streaming for the best of a decade.

Giving drunk Auntie energy, Cornelia tunefully croaks out a gorgeous sweeping ballad, raw and about as authentic as Swedish Eurovision gets. It just builds and builds until you're drunkenly crying about your own regrets.

Both these songs are tracks to show to Eurovision cynics.



 
262 Rihanna - S&M (2011)

These were simpler times. The biggest pop star in the world made a hi-nrg eurodance track about bondage. The video is a lot of glossy, naughty fun, despite featuring the evil Perez Hilton and appropriating from high fashion shoots. I had entirely forgotten there was an utterly pointless version featuring Britney.

Is it better than Dirty Talk by Wynter Gordon? Stay tuned!

 
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Absolutely loathe that Journey song. So many other songs that flopped in the UK in the 80s that deserved a revival above it.

S&M though :disco: maybe Ri's best moment, & soundtracked my OUT EVERY WEEKEND phase from this time period.
 
261 Ofra Haza - Im Nin Alu (1988)

A beautiful Hebrew poem set to music and performed by the late Israeli superstar Ofra Haza. Originally performed in 1978, it was the remix a decade later that became a smash hit. I believe one of only two Hebrew language songs to chart in the UK, the other being Diva.

I know little else of her work, aside from her brilliant 1983 Eurovision entry, which finished just ahead of the third place track Framling, which has already appeared here.

She sadly passed away in 2000 from an AIDS related illness. RIP.





 
Agneeta said:
265 Journey - Don’t Stop Believin' (1981)

I have no excuse, sometimes I have straight thoughts.

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When I went to the casino a few weeks back, this came on and the entire place erupted in a sing-a-long. I don’t care how basic bitch this is, I will never tire of this song.
 
Kind of obsessed with some of Ofra's songs. The two big ones from that project are two lightning in bottle moments, the time she took on Corona to keep the momentum going in Germany (Mata Hari), the Enigma moments, stuff with Iggy Pop, Sisters of Mercy, BVs for Paula Abdul and some gems here and there amongst considerable rubble. It's strange to think that she lost domestic ground when pursuing international success (usurpred by Eurovision Rita for a bit). Anyway, Im Nin' Alu is something else. Can't believe it's only been in my life about 15 years or so.

Love Don't Stop Believing. Kind of surprised similar-voiced Rod Stewart never did a Cilla by stealing an easy UK hit out of it. So for those who find it overplayed, consider yourself spared I guess.
 
Joseph said:
When I went to the casino a few weeks back, this came on and the entire place erupted in a sing-a-long. I don’t care how basic bitch this is, I will never tire of this song.
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It's as easy to hate, as it is to like. It's an absolute belter. Of course I'd prefer Cambodia or The Rain Begins To Fall to break out for a new generation, but I liked that it had it's moment.
 
straightorbroken said:
Kind of obsessed with some of Ofra's songs. The two big ones from that project are two lightning in bottle moments, the time she took on Corona to keep the momentum going in Germany (Mata Hari), the Enigma moments, stuff with Iggy Pop, Sisters of Mercy, BVs for Paula Abdul and some gems here and there amongst considerable rubble. It's strange to think that she lost domestic ground when pursuing international success (usurpred by Eurovision Rita for a bit). Anyway, Im Nin' Alu is something else. Can't believe it's only been in my life about 15 years or so.

Love Don't Stop Believing. Kind of surprised similar-voiced Rod Stewart never did a Cilla by stealing an easy UK hit out of it. So for those who find it overplayed, consider yourself spared I guess.
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God the potential horror of Rod Stewart tackling this, has brought my viral load down.
 
Just popped on this, I'm intrigued from the very beginning. Excited to hear "My Ethiopian Boy"

 
Can confirm that I will be playing that album again. Could have done without the You've Got A Friend cover, but solid nonetheless.
 
260 M People - Moving On Up (1993)

I must confess, I absolutely adored M People before they became a dull soulful, Lighthouse Family parody. I'm genuinely surprised this has appeared, although I'm quite partial to the MK Mix these days.

Taken from the Mercury Music Prize winning album(!) this was an uplifting pop house banger, that saw out it's days on Heart FM and a Rightmove advert. Sad! They were cool for a short while.

I used to work as Heather Small's hair stylist a perfect role for my height. I had to leave, once I realised I hadn't done anything to be proud of and her hair fell down.



 
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